Georgian Cluster Bombs Killed Own Civilians

Beijing clones, improves Russian fighter jets

(NEWSER) - An interesting side to China's ascendancy is its emergence as a major arms innovator, a reputation it's built on the ruins of a former weapons powerhouse—Russia. When the Soviet Union collapsed and left the nation desperate for money, China shrewdly bought $30 billion in cut-rate missiles, tanks, and planes—plus licenses to build them. Now, it has absorbed the Russians' knowledge and is putting out weapons that take the best from both countries' engineering efforts, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Republic thumbs its nose at the mother country

(NEWSER) - Georgia has decided to give Russian the boot and change its second official language to English, NPR reports. The post-communist nation, which has spoken Russian since it was annexed by the Russian Empire in the 1800s, hasn't exactly seen relations with its former mother country improve since the 2008 conflict between the two. As an Al Jazeera video report (at left) on the change found, many Georgians see and appreciate the move as part of the country's gradual process of Westernization. More»

Propaganda is the better part of valor

(NEWSER) - More than a year after they stopped shooting at each other, Russia and Georgia are still fighting—on movie screens. Each side is backing high-profile films sympathetic to their take on the war. Russia’s first effort, a documentary entitled Act of Betrayal, fell flat because its claims that Georgia was committing genocide in South Ossetia were too over-the-top even for supporters. But March’s romantic action flick Olympus Inferno fared better, and a third is in the works. More»

But Russia broke international law, militia committed genocide

(NEWSER) - Georgia was responsible for triggering last summer’s war with Russia, a European Union investigation has concluded. But Russia was far from blameless, laying the foundation for the war and breaking international law by invading. The report, which was reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, also accuses Russian-backed South Ossetian militias of ethnic cleansing against Georgian civilians, both during the war and afterward. More»

Iran, Afghanistan won't spend summer snoozing

(NEWSER) - August is a snooze—except when it isn't, writes Anne Applebaum for the Washington Post, who points out that World War I and Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait began in the eighth month. For the benefit of "the interns who are manning the shop while everyone is out of town," she runs down the crises that could bubble over:

• Iran—Show trials of protesters are already under way, and the leadership could very well "test the West" by arresting some top-level opposition leaders.